Aspen Institute Italia organized the “China, Europe, U.S. Trialogue” jointly with Aspen USA and the Central School of the Communist Party, in cooperation with the Fondazione Italia Cina, on December 2-3 in Beijing.
On the Italian side, participants included Giulio Tremonti, John Elkann and Cesare Romiti. The conference launched a new forum for triangular discussion on the main issues of international economics and finance, governance, the energy and environmental sector, and security. Several problems were tackled, such as mutual perceptions, historical legacies and partly different priorities, but also the vast areas of convergence on shared objectives. The spirit of the initiative is to offer fresh ideas on the evolution of global governance, comparing experiences in areas that are crucial to both international relations and national economies. In particular, direct interaction with the Central School – which selects and trains the Chinese elite – has a great innovative potential and can bear fruit in both the medium and long term.
In this context, the “Trialogue” can provide a stable platform for informal – thus as frank as possible – exchanges at the trilateral level among China, Europe, and the United States. A second follow-up meeting is scheduled for 2011 in Venice, and a third meeting for 2012 in the United States.
China’s clouded lens, by David Ignatius, The Washington Post, December 8, 2010 (free of charge)
A risen China reaches for power, by Philip Stephens, Financial Times, December 9, 2010 (payment required)
